Okay, I've finally compiled my list of the greatest boxers in each weight class, and pound for pound. This has been years in the making, and I always wanted to do it right. As an athlete myself, I couldn't just go with feeling, or ignore the deep nuances of what make a fighter great. I can't lay out every component in this blog post, or it would take forever.
When considering the greatest fighters, Mayweather said recently, that he considers the amount of weight classes they conquer. I half-agree with that. The truth is that faulting a heavyweight for that is not quite fair, being that most of them don't drift away from that weight class. It's easier for guy to go from cruiser to heavyweight, than it is for a heavyweight to drop to cruiser, or light heavyweight. Hence, you rarely see it. You also have to consider raw ability and skill, which do not always translate to titles and wins to the max. It's about how a fighter moves and adapts. How would he do at his very best? I considered all of these factors, and had to watch footage to back it up.
I did an pound for pound list, and the individual weight classes. I did Heavyweight, Middleweight, Welterweight, and Lightweight. Those were the core classes, before titles and divisions were broken up.
In the Heavyweight division, my top 5 are:
1. Jack Johnson- versatile, powerful, and defensive genius. Able to do it all, with ease
2. Gene Tunney- not often talked about, but in my opinion, he was a bit better than Dempsey. His skill was far ahead of its time.
3. Ali- He speaks for himself. He faced a who's who of champions, and always adapted. He had some suspect fights, and showed some holes in his game and technique, which pull him from number 1.
4. Marciano- 49-0 doesn't get you an automatic 1 for me. I'm not like the laymen. He almost lost some fights, but at the same time, he had the ability to pressure and get a decision if he needed to, which shows ability. His power, and recuperative powers were immaculate.
5. Evander Holyfield- I had to make an amendment to this list, as expected after a bit of thought. And I know that this inclusion is also going to turn heads. Most average fans give no thought to "Real Deal" as an all-time great for no real reason, other than his low-key personality. However, he was more deserving of this spot than the previous Lennox Lewis. If you really look at his resume, it's hard to argue that he doesn't meet the criteria. This man came up from Light Heavyweight and remained competitive throughout his entire long career, with wins over Tyson, Bowe, Moorer, Oquendo, Ruiz, Rahman, Holmes, Tillman, Douglas, and the list goes on. While he has a loss and a draw to Lewis, I take into account the fact that he was the only person Lewis faced that was a competitor to the fullest, even undersized. The same is true of Bowe- him giving Bowe his only loss, and he had better wins than them both. I can't hold his losses against him. He avenged many of them, and often, just did too much, too soon. He always had a workman's style to him, and worked the jab and turned well into counter hooks. At the same time, he was willing to trade in spurts with tough opponents, and knew how to survive when rattled. He was great, and also the perfect example of how fans don't know what to look at. 99% will tell you Tyson was greater, when Tyson himself saw and says the truth.
In the Middleweight division my top 5 are:
1. Sugar Ray Robinson- The ultimate Sugar. He had an amazing and accurate offensive arsenal. He could penetrate any defense, and had a chin and defense of his own that was masterful.
2. Carlos Monzon- He was heavy handed and had a smooth style that would lull you into traps. Deceptive defense as well, gave him just the distance he needed to set up devastating counters.
3. Bernard Hopkins- As he himself has said, it's hard to appreciate greatness that's in front of you. He had explosive offense during the years he dominated the middleweight division. Always a defensive master, he fought like Gene Tunney reborn.
4. James Toney- He is known as master of the shoulder roll defense. He also had explosive power, and could put together very sharp combinations.
5. Marvin Hagler- Many people's number 1 for idiotic and sentimental reasons. He was a great middleweight, but he couldn't get rid of a lightweight in Duran. He overpowered his opponents. He had sufficient skill, but his resume didn't really show the need to adapt much.
In the Welterweight division my top 5 are:
1. Sugar Ray Leonard- I always felt that his ability wasn't fully reflected in his record. And then he fought too late. When at his best, he had a savage power, capable of brutal knockouts. He also had amazing boxing ability and reflexes that were amazing to watch. At his best, he would not have lost to Norris.
2. Manny Pacman Pacquiao - If you watched his growth from the lighter weights, he became a great boxer by the time he stepped up to welter and faced a bigger De la Hoya and Hatton. He put on amazing performances, and also showed elusive movement and boxing ability across an array of talent in the division. I also gained a lot of respect for him for his fight against Mayweather. While many think they saw him getting schooled, he showed further development as a counter puncher, and defender. If you go and look at the replay footage, you can see the beautiful shots he caught Floyd with on the inside and at distance. He actually frustrated him many times. Manny fought one of the greatest Mexican fighters in Marquez 4 times, and gave Marquez so much trouble, he had to juice to get through the last fight. Enough said.
3. Henry Armstrong- He would always start a fight in a crouched position, and then unleash amazing counters and combinations. He was extremely technically sound. Like Pacman, you had to watch him to see that. Surprising power allowed him to KO people at a moment's notice.
4. Pernell Whitaker- Almost a perfect fighter, he had just enough power to be a danger, and almost untouchable defensive ability. He was pound- 4- pound for a reason. However, he had a couple of lapses and was taken into deep waters on occasion.
5. Floyd Mayweather- It's amazing how people reason backwards. For calling things as they really are, I'm labeled as hating on Mayweather, when I've had the utmost respect for him for over the decade that these same people hate him. The self proclaimed best of all time, Mayweather had a nice resume and arsenal of attacks and defensive maneuvers that carried him over from lightweight to welterweight. He has impressive victories over hall of famers. When it comes to his abilities, I always saw a high ceiling, but he never really reached it. Many fans see perfection when they see him, because they are easy to fool. There is a reason he is at 5 and Manny at 2, and it has nothing to do with emotions. If you watch the way he fights, one of Money's best assets is his chin. It's hard for people too stupid to see landed punches to notice that, but he holds up well under direct blows. He also has excellent movement ability. He would have done well for himself in the previous era of boxing, especially at lightweight, where he could have let his hands go more. However, not only would he have suffered KO's from many on this list, but he also would have dropped decisions to busier and better fighters on this list in different settings and times, including Pacman. In fact, the Pacman fight revealed a lot to me. He showed that he couldn't adapt as I once thought, and that he could be outboxed by a fast and elusive fighter. He regurgitated his nonsense, and it worked for the masses, but not me.
My Top 5 lightweights of all time are:
1. Roberto Duran- with what he did at lightweight, he showed me that he would have been unbeatable if he stayed there. He had the power of a strong middleweight, as well as the chin of one, coupled with Pacquiao boxing ability. I often call Pacman the second Duran.
2. Aaron Pryor- he was a terrifying boxer with good head movement and a heavy right hook counter. His resume is impressive to a good degree.
3. Sugar Shane Mosley- Many forget how amazing he was at lightweight. He was almost unbeatable. He had his fastest hands at this weight and power to stop any opponent he faced.
4. Carlos Ortiz- Watching footage of Carlos, you can see the Monzon-like ability he had to walk his opponents down and deliver educated combinations while slipping effectively. He also faced some animals.
5. Ike Williams- He had a very impressive career, and offensive ability. However, he was susceptible to left hooks often, and buzzed in fights that he came back to win. Respectable, but not number 1 material.
When it comes to P4P greatest list, it's impossible to do one with only 5 slots, if at all. You notice that some omissions may surprise you. But once again, you have to realize that this list is not about sentiment. It's about raw ability. Someone once said that if you put Marciano in a room with every heavyweight who ever lived, he would be the one to walk out alive. That's sort of the principle. Regardless of titles, I look at what and how much they could do flat out.
Top Ten Pound-for-Pound list:
1. Walker Smith- aka SRR
2.John Arthur Johnson
3. James Gene Tunney
4. Rocco Francis Marchegiano
5. Carlos Roque Monzon- Escopeta
6. Sugar Ray Leonard
7.Roberto "Manos de Piedra" Duran Samaniego
8. Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao
9. Pernell "Sweet Pea"Whitaker
10. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr.
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